BMW M Performance Automobiles: A new breed of performance cars

Every petrolhead in the world knows about BMW’s M division. The M range of cars from BMW are built with the sole objective of offering a dominating driving experience that makes you forget everything in this world. Their high revving powerful engines, agile suspension setup, precision handling and everyday practicality make the BMW M range of cars some of the very best. For years the M division has been the worst nightmare of every other performance car maker around.

It is therefore quite a moment for the automotive world as BMW has announced for certain that they will be adding another wing to the BMW M GmbH division, the new division is called, BMW M Performance Automobiles. BMW M Performance Automobiles will be defined by a new in-line six cylinder diesel engine with three turbochargers. Another characteristic defining the M Performance Automobiles from BMW will be the German car maker’s all-wheel-drive system called the xDrive system. All BMW M Performance Automobiles will be all-wheel-drive instead of rear-wheel-drive as is the case with every car made by BMW M GmbH. 

The new range of BMW M Performance Automobiles include the BMW X5 M50d, BMW X6 M50d, BMW M550d xDrive and the BMW M550d xDrive Touring. All these cars will be powered by the new triple turbo, six cylinder 3.0 litre diesel engine.

In typical BMW M tradition it is the harmony of the powertrain, chassis and design that will make the BMW M Performance Automobiles different from its competitors. BMW’s newest range of performance cars get an eight speed Sports automatic gearbox with paddle shifters, light weight alloy wheels, bespoke body design for optimum aerodynamics and the xDrive system tuned to suit the needs of every individual model. 

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The new six cylinder diesel engine from BMW is a 3.0 litre that uses a new development in common rail direct injection technology with Piezo injectors working at 2,200 bar maximum pressure. This gives the engine a power output of 386PS and a staggering 740Nm of torque. The three turbochargers work in complete harmony to deliver seamless power throughout the rev range starting at 2000 rpm. Two small turbochargers provide strong low end grunt while the big turbocharger kicks in at higher speeds to generate as much charge as possible. The new engine is designed to be powerful and efficient keeping with modern times. 

The end results of all the technical wizardry are some serious performance figures. The M550d xDrive can do 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, considering that the current generation BMW M5 goes from 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds the M 550d xDrive is a serious performance machine. The BMW M550d xDrive Touring follows the path of its sedan counterpart and clocks 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. The BMW X5 M50d accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds while the BMW X6 M50d takes 5.3 seconds to go from standstill to 100 km/h. All BMW M Performance Automobiles are electronically limited to a top speed of 250 km/h.

BMW M Performance Automobiles have implemented model specific power transfer, chassis and aerodynamic designs to make each individual M Performance Automobile deliver absolute driving pleasure in an efficient manner. Judging by the pedigree of BMW M GmbH the new BMW M Performance Automobiles will live up to everyone’s expectations if not exceed them. Needless to say, they will create a bench mark for diesel performance cars.